DEADLY INDIAN ROADS CLAIM LIVES OF 56 PEDESTRIANS DAILY; TAMIL NADU TOPS LIST

Roads in India are turning deadlier for pedestrians. Data released by the government shows the number of deaths, shooting up from 12,330 in 2014 to 20,457 in 2017 - a nearly 66% jump. The data translates to 56 pedestrian deaths daily.

Pedestrians are highly vulnerable on roads as they have no protection in case of an accident. Cyclist and two-wheeler occupants also fall in this category. According to official figures, 133 two-wheeler occupants and close to 10 cyclists were killed daily in road accidents in 2017.

Tamil Nadu topped the list of pedestrians killed in road accidents last year, with a maximum number of 3,507. This was followed by Maharashtra (1,831) and Andhra Pradesh (1,379). Similarly, in the case of two-wheeler deaths, Tamil Nadu topped the list with 6,329 fatalities, followed by Uttar Pradesh (5,699) and Maharashtra (4,659).

"The trend of vulnerable road users getting killed is the same across all southeast Asian countries and hence we need to find solutions to our problems of how to make roads safer for pedestrians, cyclists and motorcyclists. There is a dire need to segregate these road users from other vehicles to reduce conflicts," said K K Kapila of International Road Federation.

In a bid to reduce fatalities from road accidents, the Centre has now made it mandatory for all models of two-wheelers to have Anti-lock Braking System (ABS) from April 2019.

*Report: Times of India*